Epidemiological survey of foot diseases in Japan: Results of 30 000 foot checks by dermatologists

There has been no epidemiological survey of foot diseases in Japan. In this study we determined the prevalence of foot diseases, especially tinea pedis (TP) and tinea unguium (TU) in Japan. We conducted a randomized survey of outpatients who visited a dermatologist during the third week of May in 1999, 2000 and 2006. The most frequently reported condition was “fungal infection” in 8737 (40.0%) of 21 820 patients in 1999/2000, and 3848 (49.4%) of 7783 patients in 2006. The patients who visited a dermatologist for reasons other than superficial fungal infection but were diagnosed with TP or TU comprised 18.6% of the study population in 2000 and 24.1% in 2006. Of the patients with TP or TU, 63.2% used topical medication only. This survey showed that often patients are not aware of fungal infections and that their treatment is sometimes insufficient. Dermatologists should actively examine and treat patients with TP and TU.     

Chronic granulomatous disease in Japan: Incidence and natural history

PURPOSE: To analyze the incidence and causes of fatality of patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) in Japan and to provide an opportunity for comparison with reports from other countries. METHODS: The Study Group of Phagocytic Disorders in Japan conducted a questionnaire survey on CGD patients in Japan, results of which formed the basis of the study. RESULTS: Clinical details of 221 patients were analyzed: 194 male and 27 female (ratio: 7.2/1), 152 living, 51 dead and 18 unknown. The prevalence of CGD was estimated to be 1/287,709 live births. The fatality rate was 23.1%. The mean age of the surviving patients increased from 8 years 4 months in 1985 to 16 years 0 months in 1998. Although the mean age of death was advanced by 4 years 11 months during the same period of time, the fatality rate has remained practically unchanged during the past 13 years. The number of living adult patients has tended to increase (32.1%). At the time of study, approximately 90% of patients had been placed on sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim prophylactically or therapeutically, either singly or in combination with other modalities, including interferon-gamma, antifungal agents and various antibiotics. Pulmonary infections were responsible for 58.3% of fatalities. CONCLUSIONS: With early diagnosis and prompt institution of appropriate therapy, the mean age of CGD patients in Japan has been increasing, but the fatality rate has remained practically unchanged during the last 13 years, mostly due to the fungal infections.     

The Sensitization of Anti-Cancer Therapy by Squalene and Schisandrin Through the Modulation of DNA Damage Checkpoint Activity.

ATM（ataxia telangiectasia mutated）and ATR（AT and Rad3 related）protein kinases play a crucial role in cellular DNA damage responses. The inhibition of these kinases and/or following effectors lead to an abolishment of one such signal pathways termed as checkpoints.     

The Effect of Endocrine Treatment on Advanced Breast Cancer in Japan

The results of ablative endocrine treatment in patients withadvanced breast cancer in Japan have been reviewed retrospectively. Data from breast cancer patients who received endocrine therapyhave been collected from eight centers. The total number ofpatients receiving ablative endocrine therapy was 288; of these,37 were excluded because the available data were inadequate. The criteria of response were the same as those described byHayward (1966) and Taylor (1966), in that success was consideredas objective remission of all metastatic lesions for a periodof longer than six months. By this definition, the success ratefrom bilateral oophorectomy was 27.1% while that from adrenalectomyvaried from 30.6% to 38.2% depending on the method of operationused. The mean survival time following operation in successfulcases varied between 31.6 and 39.8 months. Patients with pulmonarymetastases survived longer than patients with soft tissue lesionsor those with skeletal secondaries. The effect of testosterone propionate on advanced breast cancerseems to be in the range of response reported in the U.S.A.Japanese breast cancer patients responded well to fluoxymesteroneadministration but it is too early to be certain of the overallresults of androgen therapy in these women.     

Steroid therapy in IgA nephropathy in Japan

Summary: We performed prednisone (PSL) therapy which was done in the manner of a prospective multicentre paired controlled trial. We collected 196 patients with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy (IgA-N). the patients were divided into prednisone group receiving prednisone (PSL group, n = 111) and antiplatelet group receiving anti-platelet drugs only (AP group, n = 85). the mean follow-up duration was 4.7 ± 2.5 years. We observed that PSL showed beneficial effects in maintaining renal function and decreasing proteinuria for the first 3 years. In stratified subgroups with proteinuria (UP>2 g/day) and with UP>2 g/day and creatinine clearance (Ccr)< = 70 mL/min, the renal death rate at the end of follow-up in patients of PSL group showed a tendency to be less than that of AP group ( P = 0.067, P =0.095, respectively) although the renal survival rate between both groups were not significantly different. We speculated that steroid therapy might be effective in IgA-N patients with UP>2 g/day and Ccr< = 70 mL/min. Further trials should be carried out in a properly controlled, randomized, stratified manner with long-term follow up.